


The Kid on the Block

by orphan_account



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Fake AH Crew, Gen, Platonic Relationships, fredo is super excited to be here, ryan finds himself with a new work buddy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-13
Updated: 2020-01-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:55:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22235953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Ryan hasn't felt this out of place in the crew since they hired Jeremy. But there's something about Alfredo's age, his enthusiasm, and generally just all of him that makes Ryan think he might not be the best role model for the job.Geoff, as always, thinks otherwise.
Relationships: Ryan Haywood & Alfredo Diaz
Comments: 8
Kudos: 86





	The Kid on the Block

They haven’t hired anyone on full time in years. Not since Jeremy.

Sure they’ve got their freelancers that they keep on their payroll, but they’re only around for a few weeks every so often.

But then Geoff went out and hired this new guy—this _kid._

Alfredo.

He’s supposed to be a thief, someone with the stickiest fingers they know. He also knows how to jack a car quickly and quietly (key word: quietly). He has an impressive set of technical skills coming from lifting cars with intricate locks and onboard computer systems. With the right motivation, team, and resources, Alfredo could be a godsend to the crew when they try to pull over more elaborate heists. Namely encrypted banking information and digging up blackmail material from different firms in the area.

Now, Ryan wouldn’t have a problem with this normally (he’s finally warmed up to Gavin and he’s been here the longest). What he does have a problem with is Geoff foisting Alfredo onto him so that he can ‘learn the ropes’ and for Ryan to keep an eye on him.

“Why couldn’t you have just given him to Michael?” he asks.

“Because Michael’s got his own shit with Gavin to do, and I’m more privy to ‘trial by fire’ when it comes to new meat.”

“Don’t you mean trial by neglect?”

Geoff shrugs. “I just want to know if ‘fredo can work well with someone, well, with someone as extreme as you.”

Ryan frowns, crossing his arms to look affronted. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Geoff gives him a look that clearly mean ‘Ryan, look at you.’ And yes, Ryan likes to be dramatic when the need calls for it. His black skull mask is a bit much, but its purpose is two-fold. One: to product his identity, obviously, and two: to throw everyone off their game. You don’t know what a man in a mask is going to do. Loose cannon is a great way to avoid any shootouts. No one’s up to do anything when they’re all looking at the guy with the mask.

“You _know_ I only work well with a few of them,” he tries to say, but Geoff won’t have it.

“You know you work well with _all_ of them you grumpypants you. And the job isn’t even that bad. You’re just going to tail a car, or find where it’s parked and shit, and drop a tracker on it. An easy job for the likes of you. You just sit in the car and watch him do it. Keep an eye on him.”

Ryan sighs dramatically and slouches in his seat. “So I’m a glorified babysitter.”

“Yeah and I’m telling you it’s time you got your first job and learn some responsibility. Now, go out there and make daddy proud.”

“I hate it when you do that.”

“Daddy Geoff wants a new yatch, so you better do what he tells you to.”

Alfredo resembles something like a bird in a similar way that Gavin does. Gavin has more of a lean runner’s build, and while Alfredo does have some muscle on him, he doesn’t look like a brawler or a scrapper like Michael and Jeremy. He looks too . . . _clean._

His hair is always perfectly styled and neat. His teeth are perfectly straight and white. And he’s always wearing some nice scented cologne. Nothing too overpowering or spicy. But just enough to give off the impression that he likes to take care of himself. He wears new clothing free from any wear and tear. His signature clothing is a read faux leather jacket with a thick white band that goes around the chest and arms. He looks fancy, too fancy for a job like this.

And he’s entirely too _keen_ when he slides into the passenger’s seat of Ryan’s car.

“Aw, Geoff told me about this one,” he says.

And chatty too.

Ryan pulls out onto the road.

“I can’t believe it, man! My first proper job with the crew! This is going to be _tight._ ”

Ryan sighs. He can only be grateful that he wore his mask. It gives him confidence. The lads can (and probably do) laugh about it, but if it puts a barrier between him and Alfredo, he’ll take it.

“Aw man. Me and the Vagabond, out on the town. Just two bad boys going at it.”

Ryan is tempted to think that Alfredo’s chattiness is related to nerves, but a larger part of him heaves a long suffering sigh. Alfredo sounds like a fan. He makes Ryan feel old and out of place. Like he’s the new kid coming in full of energy and non-creaky bones. It makes Ryan realize how long he’s actually been in this line of work.

He’s middle aged and Alfredo still has the boundless energy of youth.

_Fuck._

They get to the car in question. It’s at some big wig’s house up in Vinewood. All they have to do is get through the gates and to the sports car sitting in the driveway. Their target is out of town for the next two weeks so all they have to do is plant the tracker without setting of any property alarms. A simple job for the likes of the Vagabond. And Alfredo.

He parks the car a ways back and they walk up the rest of the drive. Alfredo certainly has a bounce in his step and Ryan is close to snapping at him to keep his feet light. But he doesn’t want to give themselves away and disappoint Geoff.

First they have to deal with the gate. Ryan’s not going to open it, so he stands next to the low wall running alongside it so he can boost Alfredo over. He locks his fingers together and it takes a moment for Alfredo to clue in without any instruction.

“Oh! So you want me to. Yeah. Right. Okay.” His whisper is more appropriate for a stage, but Ryan will just sigh again and boost Alfredo up to the wall before scrabbling up over himself. They cross the driveway to the garage, where Ryan comes to stand at the pin pad to the garage. He pops off the case with a screwdriver and then pulls on the wires to circumvent the number keypad.

“So do you do straight up Bond shit?” Alfredo asks him. “Do you get cool gadgets for when you’re pulling off bigger jobs?”

Ryan sighs (again) and focuses on the wires. He doesn’t want to trip some sort of silent alarm.

“What do you think would happen if someone were colour blind in this job? Like how would you know what wires to jab together?”

One of their freelancers (Trevor) happens to be colour blind and happens to be quite good at his job, but Ryan’s not feeling chatty and focuses on the job at hand. He has some experience with electrics. Rudimentary at best. He’s more for crowd control and the heavier situations. Once he gets the garage door to open and escorts Alfredo inside, he’ll see what this kid is all about and why Geoff is so adamant that he hire him on full time rather than keep him on a contract.

“A 1970 Shelby Mustang,” Alfredo says, wandering around the car with admiration. “Nice.” He pulls out a pair of leather and soft hide gloves. From within his jacket, he pulls out a lock pick kit and kneels down next to the key door lock on the driver’s side of the car. Ryan simply stands to the side, arms crossed, leant against a wall to watch Alfredo work.

He’s deft with his fingers. He works the lock quietly, not letting an ounce of frustration show as he carefully pokes at the tumblers. When the lock finally pops, Alfredo clenches his fist in triumph to himself. “I’m just that good,” he says, smiling widely at Ryan as he slips into the front seat.

From there it doesn’t take too long to plant the car tracker and leave everything the way they came in. After Ryan replaces the keypad cover and boosts Alfredo back up over the wall. They get back to the car after twenty minutes on the job.

“That went down pretty good I’d say,” Alfredo says. He takes off his gloves delicately, stuffs them back into his pocket.

They come up to the parking garage where they are to part ways. They get out of the car and Ryan stands to stretch. He was expecting a quick night, but it seems Alfredo wants to stick around.

“You know, I thought it was going to be intimidating. Me going out with the Vagabond and all, but you’re all right. A bit quiet and broody, but I get it, man. That’s your thing. That’s pretty cool, what you do. I get it. It was nice. Be seein’ you!” He gives Ryan a salute before walking off to his own car.

Ryan can only sigh heavily once he’s gone.

It’s not that he doesn’t think Alfredo is capable of handling himself. It’s that Ryan feels so out of place with him when they’re doing theses sorts of jobs.

Alfredo gets along well with the others, especially Jeremy, Michael, and Gavin, the younger ones of the crew. They’re not that young, but they have more in common with each other than Ryan does with Alfredo.

Or at least he thinks so in the beginning.

Alfredo likes electronics and technology. He likes to game in his off time, mostly shooters because he says it keeps his reflexes sharp. It’s also a good stress reliever (in Ryan’s opinion; he prefers platformers instead, but everyone’s got their vice). He doesn’t drink much, but when he does he’s a lightweight and every time they’re leaving the bar, Ryan is there to make sure Alfredo gets home all right because he’s a relatively small guy, lean more than stocky, lightweight. And the others are completely useless when they’ve been drinking, and Geoff just likes to laugh at Ryan whenever he sees him trying to herd Alfredo into his car.

Ryan doesn’t have to do any of this. He could just leave Alfredo to flounder and figure it out on his own. He doesn’t have to accommodating. Nobody was accommodating to Ryan when he joined the crew. Sure, Geoff was courteous and Jack was understanding, but Ryan still had to learn a lot of things by himself. He made the Vagabond by himself, to protect himself. Alfredo doesn’t have to do that. He doesn’t have to make up some sort of character to keep himself safe on the streets because, well, Ryan’s there to do that for him.

And it’s not like he wants Alfredo to enter this life trial by fire style. No one ever should, but Ryan is feeling like a bitter old man (because he’s jealous Alfredo is having such a good time with this and that this is something he actually wanted. Instead of Ryan falling back on bad habits because he was desperate).

(But he keeps these thoughts to himself of course.)

Sometimes they’re just out on a stake-out. Watching some target as they move from point A to point B, spying on other crews from afar, and these are boring missions. Ryan is fine on taking them alone, but Geoff is insistent on Alfredo learning the ropes, so he comes to join Ryan. When Ryan comes to pick him up, Alfredo comes over with a bag of food.

“Heard you like doughnuts, so I stopped over at the gourmet bakery place and got a baker’s dozen for us.” There’s that stupid, endearing smile again. “What’s the fun of a stake-out if you can’t treat your buddy to a little food?”

The doughnuts are amazing. They’re sweet and decadent and everything Ryan enjoys in them. He even mumbles a thanks and gets an enthusiastic ‘you’re welcome’ in return.

Okay, so maybe Alfredo’s endless enthusiasm is starting to grow on him.

During these stake-outs and their drives around town doing anything and everything for Geoff, they chat a bit, less one-sided than before. Alfredo can carry on with any conversation topic by himself. But every once in a while, Ryan will feel like he can add in a comment, a word or phrase here and there. And Alfredo responds so positively to him. He shines when Ryan speaks up, and it makes Ryan feel weird about it.

But weird in a good way. Like he’s making a connection.

Of course it’s not all sunshine and roses. They’re criminals in a gang participating in crime rings. It’s not hard to find someone who wants to fight just around the corner.

It’s a small scrap, but it solidifies in Ryan’s mind that Alfredo is still very new to this. Green around the edges.

He’s not a fighter is what Ryan is trying to get at.

They’re on a stake-out again. Nothing too serious, but this time Geoff has added some prowling to their checklist of things to do while they’re out. Ryan just plans on making a circuit around the building. Just to scope out cameras, entry points, and so on. This time Ryan has forgone the face paint. He stuffs his mask in his jacket pocket and tries to head out like any normal person down the street. Alfredo follows his lead.

“So what kind of games are you into though?” Alfredo asks. At least he’s keeping the topics safe while they’re out and about. “Jeremy was saying how you got a PC set up at home.”

“Little bit of this. Little bit of that.”

“Aw, come on. Don’t play around with me, man. I think PC gaming is hardcore.”

Ryan sighs, decides to throw Alfredo a bone, because he doesn’t want to seem cold and uncaring. He’s just bad at conversation. “Started with Halo back in the day. Branched out to PUBG, Overwatch.”

“So you’re a shooters guy.”

“Not all the time. I like some RTS games.”

“That’s pretty sweet. I like competition, you know? Playing against others, seeing how far I can get. A lot of skill, a lot of concentration.”

“I thought you might be more of a Fortnite player.”

Alfredo laughs and Ryan finds himself smiling.

“I’m young, but I didn’t stumble onto video games like last year. Don’t get me wrong. Fortnite is fun and all and I like the battle royale style, but there’s a lot out there yet that I like.”

As much as Ryan would love to continue this conversation (which he does because there’s something about talking to Alfredo that makes it easy; easier than the Lads and even Geoff and Jack), he turns his head to look down an alleyway and sees an old fire escape. It’d be ideal to climb up it and check out the window views from there.

“Stay here a moment,” Ryan says. “I’m going to check out a vantage point.”

“Yeah. Sounds cool.”

Alfredo tucks his hands into his jacket pockets and leans against one of the buildings in a casual way. Ryan might make a comments on how that pose makes him look later (especially in this neighbourhood). For now he climbs and gets to the nearest window. He’s got a pretty clear view into the building. A lot of crates. Some people walking around carrying guns. All right. So they’re well armed then. That’s good to know and—

Voices down below catch his attention. He turns to see that Alfredo is currently having an altercation with two men. If Ryan had to guess, he’d say they’re guards from the building they’re investigating.

“Keep walking. This corner isn’t for people like _you_.” It doesn’t take much as to who the men are referring to.

And Alfredo, for all he’s worth, tries to play it off. “Nah, man. You got it all wrong. I ain’t _hookin’._ I’m here to meet a friend, you know? Lives in the area. I’ve been trying to ask him to move for months since this place has seen better days, you know what I’m saying?”

Then one of them decides to pull a gun and escalate the situation from a three to a ten.

“If you don’t step off, _friend,_ you’re not going to meet yours.”

And, well, that is chilling, and Ryan needs to step in and deescalate the situation before this gets nasty, only that he left his gun in the car and they haven’t had the time yet to get Alfredo trained in arms and ammunition. So he quickly pulls on his mask and descends the fire escape as quickly and neatly as he can. He lands a bit hard. A shock goes up through his leg from his heel and then he’s off at a quick space, stalking as he normally does when he’s about to confront men of these means.

 _Not quick enough_ because bad man number one pushes Alfredo hard enough to send him stumbling against the hard brick wall. Alfredo stumbles and fails to catch himself before he falls to the ground, his body prone and ready for a right kicking. But before either guy can get anywhere near him, Ryan is yanking him back by his shirt collar and throwing him to the ground. The other man, the one with the gun, turns to face Ryan, bring up his gun, but all too slowly because Ryan grabs his wrist, squeezes hard until he yells, drops the gun. Ryan seizes it and turns with it pointed at the other man who’s just getting up.

“Try it,” he growls, shoving back one man. He could’ve been so much worse to them, but he’s more focused on Alfredo. When the men have run off, Ryan drops to Alfredo’s side and hauls him to his feet. “We need to move.”

They may have blown their cover and written off this heist, but it’s better to get Alfredo to a safe place. His face was seen and that can make a situation even worse in the day time.

They get back to the car, and Ryan peels off with the tires screeching. He takes off his mask. “You good?” He throws a glance over at Alfredo. He doesn’t look too bad. No tears in his clothes, no dark marks on his face. He was just roughed up, but he knows how bad that can be if it’s your first time.

“Uh, yeah, I—I guess so.” He doesn’t sound sure and he’s keeping a glazed look through the windshield. He’s probably just shaken, Ryan hopes. Because anything else he might not be qualified to handle.

He takes Alfredo home after that. He tells him to take the rest of the night off, take it easy, and come back to them when he’s ready.

“You sure? Thought Geoff might want to know about this.”

“I’ll handle Geoff,” he says. “We had a good scare tonight. I, I know how bad that can be.” He tightens his grip on the steering wheel. He’s no good in these situations. He feels out of place.

“Thanks, I guess.”

Alfredo starts to move, and just before he’s gone for good, Ryan calls out his name. “Just . . . call me? If you need anything?”

Alfredo nods and shuts the door.

Out of some place of guilt, Ryan stays in the car. He could go back home, but . . . he doesn’t. He stays, reclines his seat and sits outside of Alfredo’s apartment building. And after the sun comes up and people go off to work, he leaves and heads home with a lot to think about.

Alfredo is fine after two days. He comes to the next crew meeting full of smiles and enthusiasm again, but it still doesn’t absolve Ryan of the fact that Alfredo nearly had his ass handed to him while Ryan was supposed to watch over him.

“You look like you need some guidance,” Geoff says. They have a spare moment after their meeting, and Ryan finds himself following Geoff back to his office. Geoff kicks back behind his desk and Ryan slouches in the chair across it.

“So Alfredo seems good,” Geoff says. “Guess the other night didn’t scare him off at all.”

Ryan runs his palms over his thighs to rub off the sweat. “Yep. He did good all things considering.”

“So then why are you so glum? Like not in the way ‘grandma just died’ but more ‘I dropped my ice cream’ way.”

Ryan says. “How did you do it, Geoff? With Gavin, I mean. You met him when he was like sixteen? How did you not just lock him indoors all the time to keep him safe?” Geoff starts to laugh and Ryan feels himself caught in a rant. “I mean, look at him! He’s this string-bean looking thing with perfectly straight, white teeth. He shouldn’t be caught up in this. He doesn’t look like he should be. And he talks non-stop about _everything._ And he’s always trying to make everything a good, fun time, and now I’m starting to enjoy the playlists he makes when we’re in the car.”

When Geoff has finally caught a breath, he says, “Yeah, Gavin was a fun little accident now wasn’t he? But the difference is, he was still a _kid_ then. Alfredo’s in his twenties. We’ve seen what he can do, we _know_ what he’s done, and I honestly think you’re just a worried mother hen. Which is a very interesting character development considering you’ve _never_ been this concerned about the boys before.”

“I _was_ concerned,” Ryan retorts. “They just bounce back in ways I can expect.”

“Yeah, but Alfredo’s different. And you know he’s all good, right? He doesn’t hold any ill will. Like, Ryan, he came to talk to me and explain the whole situation. And you know what? He was blown off his tits because of you! Seriously, I have _never_ heard someone _wax poetic_ about you like that before. I mean, not even Jeremy. Alfredo is fine, Ryan. You don’t need to worry about him as much as you think you do. You’d probably be surprised with how much he can handle on his own.”

It gives Ryan something to think about. It’s not like Alfredo is a fan or (god forbid) a groupie of the Vagabond.

“I just feel like I need to keep him safe, you know? I just get this urge to put myself in front of him.”

“I felt the same way,” Geoff says. “But you won’t be going anywhere with that friendship if you keep throwing yourself in harm’s way. Believe me when I say it gets old fast.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Good! Glad this little pep talk got you thinking. Now don’t screw it up.”

They’re given a few days to shake it off before they’re back out there for the next hit, and this time around Ryan isn’t as fearful. The encounter has worked its way out of his system, and when Alfredo slides into the passenger’s side seat, already hooking up his phone and queuing up a playlist like it’s second nature, Ryan knows they’re going to be okay.

“Thought we could stop over at a coffee shop first,” Ryan says. “My treat.”

“Yeah?” Alfredo says. “Sweet! I know just the place and you are going to _love it._ ”

They get doughnuts, coffee for Alfredo which he drinks sweet and just black for Ryan. They're heading out of the city for once and the drive happens to be quite pleasant.

"We didn't talk about what happened the other night," Ryan starts because he wants to make sure they're both still on the same page here.

"Yeah, man. Sure. I want to thank you first, by the way, for coming in like you did. You're quick, you know that?"

Ryan, uncomfortable with all forms of praise that put him on the spot, feels himself blushing. "Just, just trying to jump in before it, um, got bad, you know? And, uh, you didn't do badly either. You were quick thinking there with what you said. It was a good diversion and, uh, yeah. You did well."

"Thanks!"

Ryan pauses to take a sip from his coffee. "You know, it's not always going to be like this. And I might not always be around. But if you ever find yourself in a bad situation, just, just call me. I'll come as fast as I can."

A moment of silence passes.

"That's . . . that's nice. Thanks. You know, I was kind of worried I wouldn't fit in. You all have such good working relationships that I thought I would just be a wrench in it all, you know? But with you? It's been great! Honestly, couldn't have asked for a better first time out." **  
**

And Ryan just nods away because that's all he can think of doing.

"So," Alfredo says. "Were we headed this time, buddy?"

Ryan thinks this friendship is going to work out after all.


End file.
